History of the World's Warships

The warship originated in antiquity as a means of asserting a country's power at sea, and was originally little more than a merchant ship from which archers, slingers and spearmen could bombard the enemy ship before boarding it. Technical developments in the technology of sailing ships led to improved warships, although their mode of operation remained unaltered, and then the adoption of oars for fast short-range speed and agility led to the dedicated warship of narrow beam fitted with a ram bow to break any enemy ship's oars and pierce its hull. Further development of the warships with sails and oars led to larger ships that performed better at sea, but the tactics of naval operations remained essentially unaltered for more than 1,500 years.